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Listen to me, O coastlands,pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword,in the shadow of his hand he hid me;he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’ But I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.’ And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— he says,‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations,that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’ Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers,‘Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’ (Isaiah 49:1-7)
Something a lot of us wonder about is the question why am I here? This has troubled so many for so long, and through prayer, reflection, conversations, reading, more prayer, some of us come to know our meaning and purpose for life. Such was not the case for Jesus, He knew why He was here and he had the help of His scriptures, this passage among them. The words of the prophet are words of God encouraging and inspiring the Son of God to know what it is that He would do. The message begins with everyone in all the world to know who Jesus is, and for Jesus to know that even while He was in his mother's womb, God had called Him to use His mouth as a sharp sword, meaning Jesus' words would have power and purpose for all who heard and heeded them. And His mission would be to be the light to the nations, with a message of salvation reaching all the world, even to the ends of the earth. Such is God's love that God wants all to be in a relationship with Him. We are called to love and trust God and to seek to be made right with Him, walking all our days with Him. And the prophet ends this passage with the prophetic word that Kings, princes, will stand and then prostrate themselves before the Lord, because the Lord has been faithful and because His love has chosen us.
So, if you happen to still wonder at times why you were born, consider this; you were made to find and follow Jesus. If you happen to still feel as if you're living in the darkness of confusion and sin, bad habits, destructive lifestyles, consider that Jesus is the Light of the world; He can pull you out of darkness and lead you in the light of the fullness of life, which is a life lived in Him. Your joy shall be one that will make others ask what you have and how can they have the same thing, and you will reply that your joy has come from Jesus. Jesus has led you out of a self-serving, self-pleasing life into one of service and love for all people.
PRAYER: Loving Father, may this be the message that speaks not only to me, but to all people. Let me find myself in You and thus find meaning and purpose in my life. Pull me out of darkness and into the light; out of the muck and mire of despair into the fullness of light. Grant me the joy that is Yours only, so that I can live in such a way others will be blessed. This I pray in Christ Jesus, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
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